


Mousetrap

by localpharmacist



Series: The Scream In Your Throat [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, I don't know what else to tag, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kinda but I guess not really, M/M, Mentioned Hinata Shouyou, Mentioned Kageyama Miwa, Mentioned Yamaguchi Tadashi, Physical Abuse, Thriller, Verbal Abuse, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:13:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27631216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/localpharmacist/pseuds/localpharmacist
Summary: What had driven them out to the road where the moonlight didn't reach them
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou & Kageyama Tobio, Kageyama Tobio & Yamaguchi Tadashi, Kageyama Tobio/Tsukishima Kei
Series: The Scream In Your Throat [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2020277
Comments: 6
Kudos: 40





	Mousetrap

**Author's Note:**

> A continuation to "Fishbone" that nobody asked for. I just felt like writing it. I guess it can be read as a stand-alone, since this fic is here to provide more context to what happened in "Fishbone" so yeah.
> 
> I hope you guys will be able to enjoy this one as well. Thank you.

The house felt cold as the night fell. He had a blanket wrapping his body as he stared at the door of his bedroom. He watched the light of the hallway outside slipping into his room through the crack at the bottom of the door. He waited for a flicker, a shadow, something that would block the light. His hands curled into the fabric of his blanket. He just wanted to sleep.

There was a faint sound- a creak of a door, not the one he was watching. It should've been a relief, but it wasn't. Then he heard footsteps resounding outside, and his heart started to pick up its speed when the sounds grew closer. And in the dead silence of the house, the footsteps had sounded like someone knocking the walls with their angry fists. They were heavy, harsh, and rattled his ribcage. He just wanted to sleep.

His eyes widened when a shadow fell over the light from the crack of the door. It moved side to side, then the doorknob rattled.

His heart jumped to his throat, and he almost let out a pained sound. He covered his mouth, then he fell back down to his bed. He turned to his side, facing the blank white wall as he pulled his blanket up and over his head. The sound of his door swinging open rang in his ears, and the cold that had been hanging in the air of his room seeped into his skin, digging and digging, tearing layers of his skin to envelop his bones. He squeezed his eyes shut, and he started to curl into himself. Both of his shaking hands were pulled close to his tightening chest and tucked under his chin.

His bed creaked as another weight occupied it. The bed was too small for two people, and it could barely contain his growing body. He had wished, again and again, that the lack of space would stop this monster from lying next to him, hugging his trembling body from behind.

Kageyama pressed his lips together to stop any sounds from slipping out. He had to pretend to be asleep. The monster wasn't interested in an unconscious body. It was always looking for reactions, and it revelled in Kageyama's despair. He couldn't let anything out.

Sobs and cries started to fill the silence, and Kageyama had thought that they were coming out of his mouth, but then he felt tears drenching the back of his neck. Muffled words of anger were poured into his skin and painted it red. Kageyama's hands clenched tightly, his blunt nails digging into his palms. His name was spat in between the words, and there was his sister's name, and his dead parents' names. His father's name was pressed harder and harsher. The air smelled like alcohol.

He felt sharp nails digging into his flesh. His stomach twisted painfully. He could feel them clawing his innards, and he was so afraid that the angry hands would rip them out of his body and left him to bleed to death in his small bed.

But he knew he wouldn't be killed. If he died then the monster wouldn't have anyone to control anymore.

Kageyama tried his best to stay still, and it was difficult because bodies had to work their way to stillness. And despite the amount of time he had spent doing this, it was still hard for him to execute. He felt like there was a spider crawling up his throat, and it tasted acidic against his tongue. He had no other choice but to keep it inside his mouth, behind his teeth as it knocked against them, trying to force its way out.

The tears don't stop. The words didn't either.

He didn't sleep that night.

***

At daylight, the monster would be drinking a cup of coffee in the kitchen.

There wasn't any tears trailing down its cheeks, and the angry words weren't muffled. They would be thrown at him like bricks, and Kageyama would have bruises all over his body. But, as the time passed, he had learned to let those words bounce off his mind. He had tried to catch those words with his hands and threw them back towards the monster, but then the cup of coffee would be the next thing to be thrown at him.

There was a scar above his right eyebrow that marked the landing, the collision of the green mug against his head. He remembered the pain, the haze of his vision as he tried to pick the shards up that time. Then, _tick, tick, tick-_ his blood had painted the kitchen floor.

"Don't you fucking dare talk back to me!" And a bony finger, sharp and painted deep red was pointing at him. Like a knife against his chest.

The hand that had thrown the mug and pointed the finger would find its way to leave another mark on Kageyama's body. A red handprint on his cheek. And on the worse days, Kageyama would have to fight for his life as the same hand, along with its pair, curled themselves around his neck. Their grip would tighten, again and again, and Kageyama would claw at the arms of the monster. Pushing, scratching, just to set himself free.

But his aunt would always stop when Kageyama's face started to turn blue. He wasn't allowed to die, because that meant she would get in trouble. And she hated troubles. That was why she hated Kageyama.

He was afraid at first, especially when he was younger and wasn't able to understand the heat of his aunt's hatred towards him. He was never offered an explanation. He just knew that his aunt would talk shit about his dead parents, and then his older sister. She didn't even spare his grandfather- her own father- from her anger. He couldn't understand back then. He just took hits after hits.

And now, he was all grown up. He had grown a thicker skin. The words didn't affect him as much anymore, and he had learned how to shield himself from the physical abuse with his arms. He had learned how to roll to his side to protect himself from the kicks. He had learned how to duck when an object was flying towards him. And the most important of all, Kageyama had learned how to cope.

At first he had used his older sister as a way to deal with his life. Once Miwa had saved enough money, she would come to pick him up and they would live together- far away from their aunt. She wouldn't be able to hit Kageyama anymore because he would be living with Miwa, and they would be happy.

But reality wasn't that easy. Miwa had to work multiple jobs in the city to feed herself and Kageyama. She would send money to their aunt, to help her with raising Kageyama, and that money would go into her own pocket and none to Kageyama. His aunt said that it was basically her paycheck for having to deal with Kageyama, for letting him sleep and live under her roof. She had told him that if he tried to speak a word to Miwa, then it would kill both him and Miwa.

"Your sister is working her ass off to keep herself alive, and do you think that she'd be able to raise you all by herself?"

And Kageyama had a new way of coping.

As he cleaned the house, he would think about his aunt choking on something that would cut the access of air into her body. As he threw the trash out, he would think about his aunt getting into a car accident on her way home. As he walked up and down the stairs, he would think about his aunt slipping and falling down the steps, her limbs folding and bones cracking. As he sat down, he would think about the fact that people will die eventually, and he could only hope that his aunt's time would come faster.

There were times where something would knock on the door of his mind, waking him up from his daydreaming of his aunt's lifeless body. Like some sort of a reminder that his morality had on for him. Or whatever semblance of sanity he had kept intact.

He had decided to stop. He had tried to think about the future, but every time he did, the thought led him back to reality and how far that particular freedom was from him. It reminded him of how grim his life was. His aunt still had her claws over his head, haunting and taunting him.

And then he met Tsukishima Kei.

Kageyama hadn't thought of the other man that much. His first impression was that Tsukishima had a very imposing height, and it was very impressive. Enviable. Just like Kageyama, he was a man of few words. Kageyama supposed he was handsome, and he looked foreign with that blond curls of his. Perhaps he was mixed? Kageyama wouldn't be surprised.

Tsukishima was a good friend of the owner of the coffee shop that Kageyama was working at. Yamaguchi Tadashi became their mutual friend. Kageyama had known Yamaguchi for quite some time now, and Kageyama was confident to say that Yamaguchi was his only friend. He was kind, and funny, Kageyama had a tiny crush on him.

Tsukishima came with another friend one day. A short man with wild bright hair. He was the kind of person Kageyama would usually have a hard time talking with, but Hinata Shouyou was strange. He made friends with anyone and anything that stepped into his line of sight. Kageyama wasn't an exception, and although Kageyama had found it hard to befriend Hinata at first, he came to learn how to do it. Being friends with Hinata was very nice.

Though they had mutual friends, Kageyama hadn't talked to Tsukishima at all. The bespectacled man didn't really make any approach, and Kageyama didn't either. He didn't know how to- didn't think he had to.

Then he had started to find Tsukishima stealing glances at him. He didn't think much of it at first. And then it became frequent- Tsukishima would look at him, and then shift his golden eyes away when Kageyama noticed them. And then again, and again, and again. Tsukishima would always glance at him behind his glasses, and Kageyama found out because he was looking at him as well.

"Is there something on my face?" Tsukishima's voice was soft.

"Huh?" Kageyama had blinked at him.

"You were staring," he said, and his smile was teasing. "Like what you see?"

Kageyama had felt different that day, maybe it was because Tsukishima wasn't looking away when their eyes met like he usually would, or maybe it was the egg rolls that Yamaguchi had made for him because apparently Kageyama was skin and bones. He had felt a push, he had felt bold, that was why he offered his own smile to Tsukishima. As if it was something he did everyday.

"I could ask you the same thing," Kageyama said. "Find something that you like?"

Tsukishima had chuckled right then, easy and light, and his eyes were crescent behind those glasses. The black frames were a contrast to his fair skin. It gave a certain edge to him and his soft curls.

And Kageyama had found himself repeating the sound inside his head days after.

***

Falling in love with Tsukishima was a difficult process. Several times he had thought that he shouldn't be standing next to the older man- shouldn't be holding his hand, looking into his eyes, having his lips all over the expanse of his skin, and his touches, his gentle voice. Kageyama had thought that he shouldn't be the one who was on the receiving end of Tsukishima's love. It was so strange, but at the same time it felt right. Felt good. It scared him.

Tsukishima's patience was something Kageyama couldn't understand. It was terrifying how Tsukishima would always be there whenever he felt like the pressure of life on him was extra heavy. He was so afraid that Tsukishima would vanish and evaporate into the cold air once he blinked. Again and again, that had shaken Kageyama up and his love for Tsukishima.

But Tsukishima never let it shook his. Through and through he had always managed to remind Kageyama of how much love he had for him, and how long of a time he was willing to give Kageyama to let him love him.

"Ten years. Fifty years. I'll wait for you."

Tsukishima Kei was the best gift in Kageyama's life, and suddenly the thought of the future didn't lead him to somewhere dark. It led him to an apartment that kept changing its layout, two sets of toothbrushes, towels, slippers, a closet too small to hold all of their clothes, and the two of them maneuvering around each other in the kitchen as they cooked meals. Sometimes there would be a dog or a cat, or both in the apartment, although he knew for a fact that animals didn't like him. But, in his head it was a possibility that they would like him.

But as always, any small flickering fire of happiness in his life would always quick to be extinguished.

His aunt was getting into a trouble with some loansharks. It had started small at first; a couple of threatening phone calls that turned into visits, then actual harassment where they would make a mess in the house, turning it inside out in search of money. Kageyama knew it was getting worse when he would come home and be greeted by the sight of his aunt crying on the floor, and bruises on her face.

It was like looking at a mirror, and for a second his aunt had turned into the younger version of himself. Small, afraid, wounded. Kageyama had felt so dirty when a feeling of joy swirled in his stomach.

But he still couldn't help the twitch of a smile on his lips as he began to clean the house again.

Once again, Kageyama became the target of his aunt's anger. This time she was harsher, sharper. Kageyama couldn't come to work a few times. He didn't want to show up with a fucked up face to the coffee shop because he knew that the excuse of him falling down the stairs would never work.

Yamaguchi was worried, of course he was, but Kageyama had been so numb and he couldn't fully appreciate the concerned and caring tone of Yamaguchi's voice like he usually would. He had sat in his bed, face adorning purples and reds, and lied to Yamaguchi through the phone with his split lips. He had felt rather empty. The words from the other side of the line weren't fully registered inside his mind. And his lies had come out too calmly to convince Yamaguchi.

Lying to Tsukishima was harder. Kageyama was stumbling over his words, they tasted like ash in his mouth, and they filled him to the point where they over spilled.

Tsukishima didn't know about the extension of his aunt's anger. Kageyama had never told him anything else other than the fact that she was verbally abusive. He couldn't tell Tsukishima the whole thing. He felt a bit shameful. He didn't want to let Tsukishima in on the monstrosity of his life. Tsukishima should remain on the side of his life where everything was happy and bright.

When Tsukishima did find out, he couldn't stop telling Kageyama that he would protect him- save him from all of the pain. He would do something to end all of this.

Kageyama probably should've had been more careful. He should've had thought over those words carefully, slowly, but at that time he couldn't really afford to care. Maybe it was desperation, or fear, or maybe even confidence that had pushed the thought that he had buried in the darkest corner of his mind out to the light.

Tsukishima was cleaning his wound when he had planned to propose the idea. It wasn't something that was fully baked, just a seed that he had wanted to plant. Kageyama had never really been the one to craft a plan, he was someone who focused more on actions. He was thorough, hard-working, and serious. Yamaguchi said he was a quick-learner, and Hinata said he had a great concentration. He wasn't sure how true those two were, but they weren't people who would fake compliments. Though Yamaguchi would do it out of politeness, but they had known each other for a long time. Yamaguchi wouldn't lie to him.

He had been staring at Tsukishima wordlessly when he thought about a way to say it. Tsukishima was someone who tended to overwork his brain to think. The most logical and analytical person he had ever met. It was scary how easy it was for Tsukishima to flip the pages of Kageyama's book, and he did it with such a care, such a gentleness that Kageyama wasn't used to. Kageyama found his intelligence hot, sensual in a way he couldn't quite explain. He would think of how smart Tsukishima was, how incredibly amazing he was, and he wouldn't be able to hold himself back from touching him.

And he had thought- as Tsukishima caressed his bruised face- about how perfect they were for this plan. It was going to be flawless. And Kageyama would be free. And he would be so close to that future of him, Tsukishima, and the changing apartment.

Someone had lit a fire in his stomach, and it spread around inside his body. The smoke had travelled up to his head, clouding his mind and making everything hazy.

"Kei, I know what we should do."

**Author's Note:**

> I might write a third part since I'm quite into this au. Well, I'll just see how things are going to play out! I'm really happy to be writing again. It's been very fun.  
> I'm also working on a multi-chaptered fic, and I'd like to share it with you guys. I hope I'll be able to finish it nicely. Do pray for me hahaha.
> 
> Anyways, thank you for reading!


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